Muni Bus Driver Was Making Turn During Fatal Collision With Cyclist

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11:57 AM: An intersection in San Francisco’s South of Market neighborhood remained closed late this morning after a male bicyclist was fatally struck by a San Francisco Municipal Railway bus, a Muni spokesman said.

The bicyclist was hit by an outbound 27-Bryant bus that was turning onto Bryant Street near 11th Street around 8:40 a.m., Muni spokesman Paul Rose said.

The cyclist was pronounced dead at the scene.

There were about three dozen passengers on board the bus. No injuries to passengers were reported, Rose said.

The passengers were transported to another bus, while the driver was held for questioning, he said.

The operator will be placed on non-driving status and undergo testing for drugs and alcohol, as is normal procedure in accidents, Rose said.

Muni transportation director Ed Reiskin issued a statement this morning expressing his condolences for the death.

“Speaking for the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency and its 5,000 employees, I express our deepest sympathy to the family and friends of the person killed near Bryant and Division streets in the tragic accident this morning involving a Muni bus,” Reiskin said.

The intersection remained closed as of 11:30 a.m.

The 27-Bryant, 47-Van Ness and 9-San Bruno bus lines were being re-routed around the fatal accident, Rose said.

Sasha Lekach, Bay City News

9:31 AM: A bicyclist was fatally struck by a San Francisco Municipal Railway bus in the city’s South of Market neighborhood this morning, a police spokesman said.

The bicyclist was hit by the Muni bus around 8:40 a.m. near Bryant and Division streets, San Francisco police spokesman Officer Albie Esparza said.

A fire official said the bicyclist was pronounced dead at the scene.

The medical examiner’s office was responding to the area as of 9:15 a.m., Esparza said.

Bus service has been re-routed around the scene of the collision.

Muni’s 27-Bryant and 47-Van Ness lines serve that area.

Nearby streets have also been shut down, Esparza said.

Sasha Lekach, Bay City News

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sfparkripoff

Dear Mayor Lee and SF Board of Supervisors,

The sad and unfortunate death of this cyclist should be a wake up call
for you to stop trying to force people out of our cars and on to
bikes. San Francisco’s poorly implemented﻿ bike sharing program is an awful concept from start to finish. We live in a city with dense traffic on all sides and the city is now renting bicycles WITHOUT HELMETS. In 2009, over 600 people were killed while riding their bicycles. Over 500 of them could have survived if they wore a bicycle helmet. Why is San Francisco City Hall enabling this type of bad behavior?

City Hall has emboldened cyclists into believing that there is minimal risk in cycling on busy city streets. Thanks to the disastrous bike share program we now have novice cyclists (and scores of international tourists) rolling around San Francisco who don’t know the California rules of the road. The City Supervisors legislate bottled water and toys in Happy meals but don’t require cyclists to know the California rules of the road, or follow the best practices of cycling?

What is the point of having separated bike lanes, 25MPH zones, and one way
streets if cyclists are not even required to wear helmets? The obnoxious﻿ (and disliked) Bicycle Lobby proudly states on their website that they, “led the way for the bicycle share pilot program and are advocating for the launch of a full scale bike sharing system in San Francisco.” After all of the arguments to reconfigure streets for “safety” the Bicycle Lobby is now willing to make a gigantic exception to cyclists wearing helmets while they are renting taxpayer funded city owned property. ﻿ As a motorist, I have no pity for anyone who puts themselves in traffic WITHOUT A HELMET﻿ or following the best practices of their chosen mode of travel.

When motorists put themselves in busy city traffic we do so with mandatory seat belts,﻿ multiple airbags, steel bumpers, liability insurance, and a license to
drive. Riding a bicycle on ANY busy San Francisco street can get you injured or killed.

Rebecca Gardner

Why do you hate bicycles so much? Every post you’ve ever made attacks the use of bicycles for anything. I’m just curious.

sfparkripoff

Let me explain.

Here’s a shocker! We do not live in an “accident free” utopia. All streets are dangerous!

When you have an accident in a motor vehicle you damage THE CAR
When you have an accident on a bicycle you damage YOUR BODY

As long as bicycles share the road with motor vehicles there will be collisions.

Ion Feldman

You should visit Europe. Paris has 20,000 bicycles in their bike share compared to SF’s measly 300. Cities like Amsterdam and Copenhagen have 40% of all commutes by bicycle, and almost no one wears a helmet. And guess what, it works! Men, women, children and the elderly can bike in comfort and safety because they’ve built infrastructure that isn’t completely automobile-centric. You’re right that it can be dangerous to cycle in SF, but that’s our fault for not making cycling safety a priority. Getting all cyclists off the roads is not a viable solution in anyone’s mind except your own.

Rebecca Gardner

I would never in my life believe I live in an accident free utopia. I am an avid bicyclist and motorcycle rider. In my 40-something years on earth I have been t-boned by a car that ran a stop sign when I was riding my bicycle and I got rear-ended by a tractor trailer when I was stopped at a stop sign on my Harley. Heck, I might be in a crash tonight on my way home, I have no way of knowing. All I can do ride as safely and as alert as possible and enjoy my life. In fact those accidents and many other tragedies in my life made me live my life even fuller rather than turning me into a curmudgeon. Finally, you are very wrong about your statement regarding an accident in a motor vehicle. People die all day, everyday in cars.

Luis Ale

Accident happens even in safety or not areas.
I pretty sure because of these bicyclist will be aware to aviod and goto protect theirself from unexpected unsafe moments

BicIvan

I do not agree.

Studies have proven that when a cyclist use helmet, cars get closer.

A helmet can protect you in mountain biking, but in cities, the helmet can´t protect you against cars, the contact with a car, is so dangarous and mortal, if car is going fast

When you bike in a city, the way to be safe, is avoid cars

Is better to be visible to cars, than using a helmet

Is better to have confined bike lanes

In SF, most of bike lanes, are shared with parking car lanes

What is needed in SF, is to give more space to bike lanes, more priority, like conpenague city

Really?!?! Motorcyclists have mandatory seatbelts, multiple airbags, steel bumpers?? Despite your distaste for cyclists, the streets of San Francisco are not just for cars! Cities across the country and across the globe have successfully implemented bike sharing programs and we’re just getting started here in SF. Get with the program and help us get to a solution that addresses everyone’s needs, not just people who drive cars.

dannyboyd6@yaho.com

Get the bikes out car lanes , Now…

Stop The Madness.

BicIvan

And when a car kills a peaton? would you recomend not to walk?

No, the problem are not peatons and cyclist, problem is excesive use of car

sfparkripoff

This accident did not NOT involve a car so don’t even try and blame excessive car use.

In THIS instance a City owned Municipal Transit Bus killed a cyclist. And when a Bus hits a pedestrian would you suggest that we not take the bus? Maybe we should abolish all municipal transit vehicles?

http://andywarthol.com/ Andrew

Can you elaborate more on how the bike sharing program is poorly implemented? Also, is it the government’s job to force people to wear bicycle helmets? To me it comes down to personal responsibility. If your answer is yes, than why stop there? Pedestrians are killed by motorists all the time. Babies are even killed by stray bullets (http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2013/10/18/2-year-old-shot-in-east-oakland-afternoon-drive-by/). Is it really a local government’s responsibility to mandate that civilians wear body armor to protect folks from all the other kinds of ways they could randomly die? I’m super perplexed by your argument regarding bike helmets, especially with respect to this particular story. If one is struck by a MUNI bus on a bicycle, head on, will a helmet really help you that much?

Please note that I’m just asking a few questions; not getting personal or trying to be mean-spirited.

sfparkripoff

San Francisco City Supervisor David Chiu sponsored legislation setting the goal of having 20 percent of all vehicle trips in San Francisco be by bike by the year 2020. It was approved by the Board of Supervisors and signed by Mayor Ed Lee, who has regularly cited it and proclaimed his support for what it now official city policy.

Now I will answer your question: “Is it the government’s job to force people to wear bicycle helmets?”

If the same government *over reaches their authority* and requires 20% of all city residents to ride a bike then YES the government should require them to follow the best practices of that mode of travel. Just like motorists are required to be licensed and wear seat belts, cyclists should also be wear a helmet, and pass a test that shows that they understand the California rules of the road.

In 2009, over 600 people were killed while riding their bicycles. Over 500 of them could have survived if they wore a bicycle helmet. After all of the arguments to reconfigure streets for “safety” the city is now willing to make a gigantic exception to cyclists wearing helmets while they are renting taxpayer funded city owned property.

http://andywarthol.com/ Andrew

“If the same government *over reaches their authority* and requires 20% of all city residents to ride a bike then YES the government should require them to follow the best practices of that mode of travel.”

The city is not requiring this at all; it’s just a goal.

“In 2009, over 600 people were killed while riding their bicycles. Over 500 of them could have survived if they wore a bicycle helmet.”